Trump Stuck In Southern Border And Immigration Loop During Harris Debate: 'They're Destroying Our Country'

Former President Donald Trump's responses in Tuesday’s presidential debate did not always correspond to the questions asked by the two ABC reporters. Instead, the GOP candidate seemed to be stuck in a loop of drugs, murders and the illegal immigrants who — in his mind — are to blame for both.  

"They have, and she has, destroyed our country with policy that's insane. Almost policy that you'd say, ‘They have to hate our country,'" Trump said, referring to the record-high migrant crossings into the U.S. from Mexico under the Biden administration. Although there's been a sharp drop in migration at the US-Mexico border since President Joe Biden's June mandate limiting border crossings went into effect.

They're Invading Our Towns, Eating Our Pets, Smuggling Drugs

"You look at Springfield, Ohio, you look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over our towns, they are taking over buildings, they're going in violently," Trump said. "These are the people that she and Biden let into our country, and they're destroying our country."

Trump went on to reference unsubstantiated claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have been eating residents’ pets: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats.”

ABC's David Muir fact-checked the pet-eating story and found no evidence that Haitian immigrants in Springfield are dining on people's pets. But that didn't deter Trump from his favorite topic. He once again blamed the Biden-Harris administration for the influx of immigrants, adding that a Harris administration would open the doors to even more.

"This will be one of the greatest mistakes in history for them to allow," Trump said. "And I think they did it because they think it's going to get them votes, but it's not worth it."

Read Also: Donald Trump Lost Debate To Kamala Harris, Will Lose Ground In The Polls, Polymarket Traders Say: Will There Be A Rematch?

JD Vance Weighs In

In comments made to ABC News following the debate, Ohio Senator and Trump's running mate JD Vance got more specific about the topic.

In response to a question about the economy, Vance jumped swiftly to the Southern border, "They [the American people] can't afford housing and a lot of their kids are dying of fentanyl overdoses because Kamala Harris has let the Mexican drug cartels take over the Southern border," Vance said.

Fact Check: The vast majority of fentanyl comes through legal ports of entry, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the people bringing it into the U.S. are native-born Americans. The data also shows that 80% of those prosecuted and convicted of federal drug trafficking offenses have been U.S. citizens, according to Tara McGrath, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California.

"They are people who have the ability to cross but also are going to be able to slip under the radar," McGrath said in a recent KPBS report.

McGrath dismissed the idea that migrants and asylum seekers are the ones primarily bringing fentanyl into the country. "That narrative is a dangerous misconception because that is not who we are seeing," she said.

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